And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
After the angel had explained the Grecian monarchy, he records the future origin of a king who should be hard of face Without the slightest doubt, he implies the iniquity of Antiochus by this phrase. He was notoriously destitute of any nobleness of mind, and remarkable for low cunning, and to this disposition was added an impudence which faltered at nothing.
Daniel sought understanding and did not seek in vain. Those who truly know God's things must desire to know more of them. When Gabriel approached, Daniel fell in fear and then into deep sleep, not from carelessness but from the weight of such abundance of revelations.
AI summary
Commenting on Daniel 8:15-27
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power,.... He should possess a large kingdom, and that should be increased by conquests: but not in his power (s), the power of Alexander; he should not arrive to that greatness he did, as in Dan 8:22 so Jacchiades: or, "in his own power" (t); for it was not so much by his own...